Taking back True Love
by Prisoner of Azkaban711
Summary: To weaken the Witch, Belle and the Charmings steal back Rumplestiltskin's dagger, hoping it will help Regina to defeat her sister. But stealing from Zelena must have consequences. And who will end up suffering her revenge? RumBelle centric. Please Review :)


Author's note: I'm not satisfied with the amount of RumBelle in this season so far. So I'm changing the story from the second half of episode 16 'It's not easy being green' (where they go to get Rumple -without his dagger) to involve more Rumbelle related prettiness. I'm afraid I may not provide regular updates because I have major exams coming up, but I will try my best. I dreamed this up before I saw episode 16 and the plot shouldn't differ too much to what I first thought of. So I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT :)

Prologue

Head in her hands, Belle sat in the back of the shop, on the chair that had always been filled by her beloved. Tears welled up in her eyes again at the thought of him being alone somewhere in the town, so close to her and yet too far away.

Two lone droplets drew a watery trail down her pale cheeks, falling onto the varnish of the wooden table in front of her.

'Great,' she thought. 'I only just stopped.'

She didn't try to stop the next tears from following the same path as the previous ones, nor did she stop the loud, sorrow-filled sobs from passing her lips and echoing off the walls of the small room. She didn't care who heard. She had lost so much. She had a right to grieve.

A few hours before they had buried Bae in Storybrooke cemetery. It was a painful experience, and not just for Belle. She recognised that Emma and Hook were both suffering after Baelfire's passing, and then there was Rumple... Emma had explained to her exactly what had happened in the forest when she had found both Rumple and Bae in heartbreaking detail. Belle knew that no one could be grieving as much as her lover.

All morning she had been distraught, hardly talking to anyone unless they talked to her directly. Even after they had sad their fair wells to Bae and went to Granny's diner, she had sat by herself by the door, wishing that it was all a figment of her imagination.

But at that point her sadness had been interrupted by floods of anger. The Wicked Witch brought out more hate in Belle than she ever realised she possessed inside of her. The way she stalked about the diner, bragging joyously about how she killed Bae made Belle more angry than she had ever felt before. But the worst part was the dagger, _his_ dagger.

Grasped in her once green fingers had been the hilt of the Dark One's elegant yet deadly weapon. Protruding from the hilt was the curved blade with 'Rumplestiltskin' carved intricately onto the flat of it.

This sight had angered Belle most of all. The way she flaunted the object, showing it off to everyone as though she owned it, as though she owned _him_, ignited the flames in Belle's heart and soul with the desire to fight.

Belle could see that having the weapon in her hands, gave the Witch an air of confidence, knowing that she could scare the people of Storybrooke into submission with just the right words and actions. But Belle wasn't scared. She never had been.

Zelena had announced her relation to Regina and challenged her to a fight that very evening, that unwavering sense of victory rolling out with her words. She thought herself invincible. But was she?

The soft tinkling sound of bell pulled Belle from her thoughts and the beauty hastily dried her eyes, rushing out to the front of the shop. Stood in the centre of the floor were Snow, David, Emma and Tinkerbell, speaking in rushed voices.

"Umm... Can I help you?" Belle asked, her voice hoarse from sobbing. She didn't want to be around people right then.

"Belle. Yes. We need to help Regina." David replied quickly, ignoring her red eyes and wavering voice and encouraged Belle to come out from behind the glass cabinets.

"And how are we going to do this?" Belle questioned again, flattening the material of her skirt.

"We're not really sure yet," Emma answered cautiously. "But we think that we need to get Gold out of there."

Her blue orbs lit up with the slightest hope of help from the others to get Rumple out of Zelena's grasp, but she controlled his every move. She bit her bottom lip as she remembered the complexity of the situation. That momentary piece of hope had made her forget about the reality.

"But the dagger..." Belle finished her thoughts out loud as Emma nodded in conformation.

Minutes passed as they stood, whilst thoughts raced around inside Belle's head. Was it possible that they had even the slightest chance of stealing the dagger back? Was it worth the risks? She didn't have to think about the answer to that one. Could she really get him back, after everything?

She had lost so much. But she also had the will to take back what the Witch had stolen.

"Well," Belle voiced aloud, her resolve strengthening with each word she spoke. "I think we have try and reach him... But first, we need his dagger."

**Hope you liked that. Sorry that it was a bit angsty... Belle is trying to be strong, but needs to grieve too... Please review :) (They make my day) :)**


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